South Korea’s police have summoned Park Chong-jun, head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), for questioning on Friday in connection with allegations of obstructing an investigation into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. This is the third summons issued to Park after he failed to respond to earlier notices on Saturday and Tuesday, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Park is accused of obstructing officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) last week when they attempted to detain Yoon under a court-issued warrant.
In a statement, the PSS said Park has not yet appointed a lawyer, making it difficult for him to attend previous summonses. “He will coordinate a date for questioning after appointing legal representation today or tomorrow,” the statement read.
Authorities have warned that this could be the final summons before seeking a warrant to detain Park.
The investigation revolves around President Yoon, who faces charges of insurrection and abuse of power for imposing martial law on December 3. Yoon, the first sitting president to face arrest in South Korea, has refused to cooperate with the CIO, citing the agency’s lack of authority to investigate insurrection charges.
Lee Kwang-woo, the head of the PSS bodyguard division, has also been summoned for questioning on similar charges. After failing to appear on Tuesday, police issued a second summons for him to appear on Friday.
Police and the CIO are reportedly reviewing measures to prevent further obstruction, including detaining PSS staff if they block another attempt to arrest Yoon.
